OUR VIEW: Schwan's move, new jobs merit appreciation

Our hats are off the Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce and the Rutherford County Industrial Development Board.

Thanks to work from the Chamber and the IDB, German manufacturer Schwan Cosmetics USA will relocate its U.S. headquarters and production facility to Murfreesboro.

The move means 450 jobs will be coming here.

The company will relocate to to Joe B. Jackson Parkway from its Piscataway, N.J., corporate headquarters with 250 jobs and its Lewisburg production facility with another 200 jobs, according to company officials. The company will pay an average of $80,000 for salaried jobs and $28,500 for hourly jobs, plus benefits, according to the Chamber of Commerce.

It's a nice mix of blue- and white-collar jobs and it's a feather in the Chamber's cap to be able to bring a corporate headquarters to Murfreesboro.

The Rutherford County Industrial Development Board approved Wednesday an incentive package for the multi-national corporation at its monthly meeting. The package totals more than $3.3 million in reduced property taxes over a 10-year period.

Rutherford County Chamber President Paul Latture said the IDB approved a "payment in lieu of taxes" plan to entice the company to relocate to Murfreesboro. The incentive plan will abate Schwan's property taxes over a 10-year period. The company will pay no property taxes for the first five years. Its property taxes will gradually increase over the next five years so the company will pay its full burden by the end of 10 years. If the company does not meet its obligations, the incentive package goes away, Latture said.

Schwan Cosmetics plans to break ground on its proposed 173,000-square-foot facility in March 2014 with a spring 2015 target completion date.

MTSU gets ginseng boost

Middle Tennessee State University planted seeds for the future Wednesday when it broke ground and on its nearly 500-acre campus-run farm in Lascassas.

At the farm, MTSU will grow ginseng, a crop that officials said could bring in at least $13 per square foot.

It's another example of MTSU officials thinking outside the box, and this will no doubt strengthen the partnership between the university and Guangxi Botanical Garden of Medicinal Plants in Nanning, China.

MTSU President Sidney McPhee, State Sen. Bill Ketron and State Rep. Jeremy Faison as well as others involved deserve credit for their forward thinking.

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OUR VIEW: Schwan's move, new jobs merit appreciation

Our hats are off the Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce and the Rutherford County Industrial Development Board.